Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai Echad
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
The Way of the Chosen People
"And God said..."
The Power of Words
By John of AllFaith © 1097
In the beginning God [Elohiym] created the heaven and the earth ...
And God [Elohiym] said, Let there be light; and there was light" (Genesis.1:1,3).In modern society the words we speak typically count for very little. Promises are made and quickly broken with little or no thought, we speak a lot, yet we say very little of any real consequence. Such is, according to the Tanakh, dangerous folly. It is taught that the words we articulate have a power and existence unto themselves. As the Likutei Amarim explains: Likewise with regard to the commandment of Torah study and the recital of Shema ( note 1 ) and prayer, and similar precepts, although they do not involve physical action in the strict sense... Nevertheless, it has been established that the meditation cannot take the place of speech, and that a person does not fulfill the commandment until [the words] have been uttered with the lips. And it has been established that the articulation by the lips is deemed as "action"... Hence, the more strength one puts into speech, the more of the vital soul's energy is introduced and invested into those words... Further more, the vital soul's energy, which is clothed in the letters of speech in Torah study or prayer... derives it's entire growth and vitality from the blood, which is of the kelipat nogah itself, namely, all the foods and drinks which the person has eaten. --Likutei Amarim-Tanya, chapter 11 -- KEHOT Publication Society, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1981
The "kelipat nogah" refers to the serpent rod of Moses ( note 2 ). It "rushes with 370 leaps" and directs the Lord's springs (or emanations) that flow interjacent of the holy and the profane throughout the diminution of Light passing downwards from En-Soph ( note 3 through the ten sephiroth or vessels of the four worlds. In other words, our world of Asiah resides below Atziloth, Briah and Yetzirah, yet is higher than the Qliphoth (the shells and the seven hells) which are ruled by Samael and his wife Isheth Zenunim. This realm is the exact opposite of Asiah, although technically it is a portion thereof ( note 4 ). Furthermore, the Nogah are controlled by Methraton, the "ruler of Moses," who has the same Gamatrial ( note 5 ) identification as SHDI, Who is, of course, El Sh-ddai or El Gib-r i.e. the Mighty God. In simpler terms, the Shaar Harichud explains that all attributes, all expressions of Divine emanation, require letters [or numbers] for their manifestation (from God). When the Holy One elects to project attributes into the lower worlds, this revelation and the "flow" by which it is accomplished, when combined, is known or perceived as an 'utterance' of combined letters which is, again, the intermediary between the Holy One and the creation ( note 6). This is implied in verses such as, "Let there be light." Now, the letters which God uses are, of course, far superior to our own. Nonetheless, the principle is the same, "... they are a phenomenon which indicates the bringing into existence of the light [in this case] from nothing." The forms the emanations manifest, depends upon the combination of letters employed ( note 7 ). "Thus it follows that all life-forces and powers that issue from His holy attributes to the lower worlds, to create them ex nihilo and to give them life and to sustain them, are given the appellation 'Holy Letters,' which are the flow of the Lifeforce from His Will... to bring worlds into being and to give them life" ( note 8 ). We see therefore that from words, which are combinations of letters, and especially 'by the power of His Name,' that "From the non-existent He made Something" ( note 9). Likewise, the words we speak convey power and bespeak reality. We find reference to the power of speech in the case of Esau and Jacob. Jacob, as is widely known, stole his brother's birthright through deception. Volumes could be (and have been) written on this, but for the present, suffice it to say that father Isaac, even after understanding the deception that had taken place, was unable to cancel his unintentional bestowal of blessing upon Jacob or to transfer ( note 10) it to Esau. Thus is evidenced the creative capacity of words, both human and Divine. Our words impart either creative or destructive power, when we speak a word of encouragement we are literally blessing the recipient. If it is truly our will to enhance the good in this world and dissipate the negative, it is within us to bring this about and to call forth the Messiah.
May the Holy One smile upon you
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Notes NOTE 1 ("Shema"): The Shema:"Hear [shema], O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. These words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand and they shall be frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them upon the door posts of your house and upon your gates (the second paragraph is found at Deuteronomy11:13-21, the third at Numbers 15:37-41) ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 1
NOTE 2 ("Serpent Rod of Moses"): Gen 7:8-13. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 2
NOTE 3 ("En-s-ff"): Or "Ain-S-ff," the highest Divinity from Whom YHVH and all else is manifest. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 3
NOTE 4 ("thereof"): The Four Worlds of course are represented by Ezekiel's vision: The Appearance of a Man; the Throne, the Firmament, and the Living Creatures. Each world contains ten Sephiroths. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 4
NOTE 5(Gamatrial): Or numerical significance. Numbers and letters are the primary emanations.The 'Kabbalah Denudata', Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine, 1986. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 5
NOTE 6 ("creation"):: Sepher Yetzirah chapter one. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 6
NOTE 7 ("letters employed"): As well as the Sephiroth of origin and the hierarchical world to which they belong. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 7
NOTE 8 ("life"): Likutei Amarim-Tanya,chapter 11 "KEHOT">Publication Society, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1981.
***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 8NOTE 9 ("something"):: Sepher Yetzirah chapter two. ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 9
NOTE 10 ("transfer"):: Genesis Chapter 27 ***use your "back" button to return to text*** Note 10
